REVIEW: ‘Alice Ever After,’ Issue #1

Alice Ever After #1 is published by BOOM! Studiosand written by Dan Panasian with art by Giorgio Spalletta and Dan Panosian,  colors by Fabiana Mascolo,  and letters by Jeff Eckleberry. Alice, the young woman, known for her adventures in Wonderland, has grown up. But when the world becomes too hurtful or frightening, which is all too often, she still takes trips to Wonderland to see all her friends. Unfortunately, these trips are provided by medicinal means, the procurement of which continues to get Alice in trouble with those around her.

The most striking thing Panasian does with Lewis Carroll’s classic protagonist in Alice Ever After #1 is how Alice’s story bears all the trappings of a classic fairy tale, despite the Victorian era world she is surrounded by. We are introduced to a fiendish villain, a father and two older sisters who are too eager to blame Alice for trouble, whether there is any or not, and a prince charming figure when she has a brush with an old friend named Earl. The story is even narrated by her two cats, Kitty and Snowdrop.

But much like the opening chapters of most fairy tales, Alice Ever After #1 paints a fairly bleak picture for our protagonist. With her addiction both a source of shame for herself and anger from those around her, Alice finds herself left doing less than lawful things to keep her stores filled with her means of visiting the only place she is truly happy, Wonderland.

As the opening setup of a story, this book manages to craft a solid start to its tale with a unique approach and energy. While the world is certainly a grim place for Alice, the story manages to deliver the weight that Alice finds herself struggling under without becoming genuinely depressing. This is mainly due to the narration from Kitty and Snowdrop.

Beyond just filling in the reader with the who’s who of Alice Ever After #1, Kitty and Snowdrop provide some rather catty color commentary about those who mistreat their beloved owner. This added bit of humor helps the story from feeling too depressing.

The art in Alice Ever After #1 does an excellent job of creating a visual presentation that feels aged. Its lines craft characters that look reminiscent of a childhood animated fairy tale. The color selection further helps this classic look. The color schemes that fill the panels of this story further reinforce the classic look of the book.

The final aspect of the book’s visual presentation is the lettering. The letters provide a solid and clean means of communicating the book’s story to the reader while never interfering with the art.

When all is said and done, Alice Ever After #1 delivers a solid and mildly intriguing beginning to this look at Alice beyond her famous, original story.

Alice Ever After #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.